hadn’t made it halfway back into the room before a powerful arm curled around her waist and hauled her off her feet. It happened so fast she was left peddling air.
The power that snaked around her and reeled her in was double that of Salva’s. The realization that he was ten times stronger than her husband, sent total terror flooding through Kristen’s veins. She’d suspected he was strong—but…my God!
She swung her arms and flayed her legs, relieved when a solid kick netted a grunt of displeasure. Encouraged, she remembered his limp and swung her fist in the direction she hoped his thigh would be. The second swing hit its mark. He swore crudely and loosened his hold on her for a split second. Kristen spun around and kicked in the direction of his groin. Anticipating her move, he jerked sideways.
A second later he charged her.
She shrieked as he drove her backward. Following her down, she ended up sprawled on the smelly mattress in the corner with the Blu Devil on top of her.
Momentarily dazed, Kristen blinked, then focused on a pair of fierce dark eyes studying her long and hard. A minute passed then he said, “I think we’ve already had this dance, fille. Oui, now I remember.” And to prove that he did, his hand reached up to touch the cut on his temple.
Blu could feel her frail yet shapely body beneath him—feel every inch of her. And whether he wanted it to or not, the perfection that had been hidden by the black robe yesterday put a new slant on everything; his little nun had enough curves to sober a career drunk.
A perfect package, he mused—beautiful eyes, a sexy mouth, angel hair and a killer body.
Killer?
“Where is it?” Blu demanded, quickly coming to his senses.
“Where’s what?”
“The gun, dammit?”
“I didn’t bring it with me.”
“Sure you did.” Blu shifted his weight and ran his hand over her left hip. He felt her body tense.
“Please,” she pleaded, “don’t hurt me.”
Blu ignored her plea, reminded of how easy it had been for her to aim that .22 at him yesterday. Determined it wouldn’t happen again, his hand kept moving as he watched her. Her eyes were wide, her fear stealing her air. “Breathe, dammit, or you’re going to pass out,” he warned. “If that happens, you’ll wake up not knowing what I did to you.”
His words made her cry out, and the air rushed back into her lungs.
“The gun,” Blu insisted. “I want it.”
“Please! I—”
Blu got to his knees and flipped her over so quickly she didn’t have time to fight him. And that’s when he saw the bruises covering the backs of her arms. He’d seen hundreds of bruises, in all shapes and sizes; had been responsible for more than he cared to remember. Good at his past job, he knew just how much pressure to inflict to cause a man’s skin to discolor, and to what degree. There was no question about it, his little nun had been manhandled, and it had been fairly recent.
The small bulge in her back pocket caught his attention, and he shoved his hand inside and retrieved the derringer. Confident she would have better manners now that he had disarmed her, Blu shoved to his feet.
“Get up.”
She rolled over, scrambled to her feet and took several steps back. With shaky hands, she shoved her sleeveless blue blouse back into the waistband of her jeans, then brushed the length of her hair away from her face.
Blu watched as her fairy-tale hair drifted over her shoulders, then past her arms, then past her waist. Hell, he’d never seen hair that long or that satin-smooth in his life.
Yesterday, dressed in nun’s clothes, she’d pulled a gun on him and given him one huge headache. Today, dressed in street clothes, he’d caught her spying on him like a little pervert. What the hell was she after?
Blu waved the gun at her. “So we’ve established you’re not a nun. And you like skin.”
“Skin?”
“Yesterday you were ordering me to get naked.” Blu motioned to the wall. “Now I catch you copping a peek through a crack in my wall.”
Her cheeks heated. “You have it all wrong.”
“Then set it right.”
“I told you yesterday why I wanted your jeans. You couldn’t answer my questions, and I couldn’t trust you to just let me walk away. Today I wasn’t watching you. Well, I was, but I didn’t come here to do that. You were supposed to be at work.”
“And?”
“And I thought you were lying about knowing Salva. I came to see if I could find some proof.” She paused. “But when I got to your house—”
“This isn’t where I live. It’s just a place I own.”
“Oh…”
Blu gauged her expression. She looked genuinely surprised. “I told you the truth yesterday. I don’t know your friend. I’ve never heard of the Harris woman, either.”
“You have to know Salva.”
“What I know is, you’re beginning to annoy me.” Blu aimed the gun at her. “And just so you know how it feels to be on the receiving end, get naked.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Forget the shoes. Start with the blouse.”
Her big brown eyes turned huge. She shook her head. “Yesterday I was desperate,” she pleaded.
“Desperation has its price,” Blu countered. “Let’s see some skin.”
“No!”
Five feet, four and a half, Blu decided. She was a half inch taller than he’d told Ry. But he was right about her being young. Suddenly his curiosity made him ask, “How old are you?”
She jutted her chin. “Twenty-four.”
Blu pulled back the hammer as she’d done to him yesterday. “Let’s try that again. How old are you?”
“If you don’t like twenty-four, pick your own number.”
What he liked was her spunk. Hell, the whole package was a five-star winner. Her legs were slight, her breasts small but clearly visible. And all that damn hair was making him think of fairy princesses and peach-scented skin.
“My money’s on eighteen,” Blu offered. “Okay, Angel, come clean. Why are you stalking me?”
“I told you why already. I’m looking for information on Salvador Maland. Because you know him, I thought you would share what you know. Since you weren’t willing to cooperate yesterday, and you’re usually at work this time of day, I came to see what I could find out on my own.”
